From my early days of using this as my personal journal. My first post as on January 2, 2006.
first post and I had no clue that this simple journal was going to be such an integral aspect of my weight loss. I included a picture of me after I had lost the first 50 pounds and where I was at that time in my weight loss.
In 2006 I joined weight watchers It was a good choice for me because it taught me how to manage and balance my eating. Nothing was off limits, I just had to adjust and work it into my food plan.
In 2007 I kept plodding along. Exercise and weight watchers were my staple of life. I had my ups and downs. I had 230 posts...so I was pretty active on my blog. I lost my favorite water mug in an unfortunate accident that year!
2008 was my busiest year on this blog with 334 posts for the year. It was also the most successful year! I made lifetime goal at weight watchers! And even included some before and after pictures.
That was also the beginning of the regain I had lost my weight through total deprivation so when I had a bit of ‘the good stuff’ I went nuts!!!
The next couple years can be defined as brutally honest, open and raw. My weight fluctuated. I would get totally focused and lose weight for a couple weeks which was then followed by a fall off the bandwagon and a regain of those pounds lost. It was during these years that my marriage really begin to disintegrate. I am in control of my weight and I should not have let that stress and those issues affect me. But I did, even though I was still keeping all of that angst out of my posts, or at least trying to, it was still very much present in my life. During this time I was a typical yo-yo dieter. I’m not proud of those years. But they are what they are, and more importantly they have helped shape the person that I am today. A lot of my weight loss beliefs and methods come from lessons learned during those failures and victories. During some of those years I was quite prolific but some of those years I barely wrote anything at all.
Even in the midst of my yo-yo existence, I did have some highlights.
In 2009 I met a fellow blogger in person and she and I rode some bike events together. We rode Girls with Gears. We also rode Pedal To Preserve. I don’t believe that Girls with gears is an active bike ride any more, but pedal to preserve is and I would highly recommend it to anybody. It’s an awesome calls and very well organized. And just for the record, don’t be afraid to meet people, that gal I rode with? She and I still communicate a couple times a week! She and her husband are awesom and I would spend a lot more time with them if we lived closer.
In 2010 I rode pedal to preserve again. And continued to be active.
Somewhere around that time frame of 2009 or 2010 I actually begin to go to Zumba At that point my posts became utterly peppered with references to Zumba. I loved the class. I loved the instructor. I enjoyed the results of the work out. Looking back I can also see where it gave me confidence and an outlet for the stress of my marriage.
Running hijacked my blog in about 2013. I started and actually completed the couch to 5k program and kept running!
I ran through 2014...even running on vacations! I ran in Jamestown NY...the birthplace of Lucille Ball. I also went running while I was in Florida On vacation and I was still dedicated!!
By the middle of 2014 I knew my marriage was over. (I actually knew in 2013 but had to stay due to certain curcumstances). I got out of the marriage and ran my heart out for the rest of that year and through 2015. But I struggled with weight...trying to come to terms with the changes in my life I guess! I even planned to run a half marathon in 2015...aborted due to health issues.
I met Jason at the end of 2015 ...best thing ever!! We have hiked a lot! And walked a lot! We have remained pretty active though 2016.
In 2017 we continued hiking but also added bike riding into the mix! Mid way through the year our work situations changed and it sent me into another tailspin of trying to figure everything out.
